updated 12:10 pm EDT, Mon October 19, 2009

Gateway EC notebooks reach US with Win 7

Gateway today entered the market for Intel CULV portables in earnest by launching its EC series in the US. Previously seen in Canada, the line is a rebadge and re-spec of Acer's Timeline and is highlighted by the EC14. The 11.6-inch system weighs just under 3.8 pounds and uses either single-core Celeron, dual-core Celeron or dual-core Pentium CULV chips to outrun netbooks while still getting as much as eight hours of battery life.

One of the default models, the EC1430u, makes the US debut with Windows 7 and will cost $550 for a 1.3GHz Pentium dual-core, 4GB of RAM, 320GB of disk space and Intel video.

The EC54 and EC58 both have a more traditional 15.6-inch display but still use CULV parts and weigh about 5.3 pounds with an internal DVD drive. Differences between the two aren't clear, but the EC5409u example system will cost $650 with the same 1.3GHz Pentium dual-core and other performance traits of the EC14, including its eight-hour longevity. Gateway adds that the larger notebooks will have the option of Core 2 Duo processors.

All three models will reach shops this week to coincide with Windows 7's rollout on Thursday.